Hideki Irabu Found Dead

Former Yankee Hideki Irabu has been found dead in his California home; suicide is suspected. Irabu, a highly-touted pitcher who went 29-20 in three seasons with the Yankees from 1997 to 1999, was 42. In 1998, Irabu won thirteen games for the Yankees team that set a then-American League record with 114 victories. (It was the following April that George Steinbrenner famously called him a "fat, pussy toad" after Irabu failed to cover first base during a spring training game.) Irabu was traded to Montreal following the 1999 season, and last appeared in the majors for Texas in 2002. [NYDN]